What’s your opinion about academic writing standards?

Academic writing is the epitome of formality and requires generally strict adherence to various style guides—usually a different standard for each subject. Should academic writing and English remain strict and formal, or is it time to relax the rules a bit?

“Beck and Call” or “Beckon Call”—Which Is Right?

• Beck and call is the correct way to spell this phrase.
• To be at someone’s beck and call means you are ready to obey their orders or commands.
• Beckon call is not the correct way to spell the phrase.

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Even though it’s not a phrase you’ll hear every day, it’s good to know whether beck and call is the correct way to say it, or if it should be beckon call.

Beck and Call vs.

Present Continuous

The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future.

The Present Continuous Formula: to be [am, is, are] + verb [present participle]

Aunt Christine is warming up the car while Scott looks for his new leather coat. They are eating at Scott’s favorite restaurant today, Polly’s Pancake Diner.

Comma Before Too: When Do You Use It?

You’ve likely read sentences in which there was a comma before too, but is this correct usage? Well, it depends on the intention of the writer. When using the word too, you only need to use a comma before it for emphasis. According to The Chicago Manual of Style, a comma before too should be used only to note an abrupt shift in thought. When the too comes in the middle of a sentence, emphasis is almost always intended since it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence.

Introducing the Diaeresis

The New Yorker is a quirky magazine. Sure, it’s a go-to when you’re looking to read high-quality writing, but the magazine’s style is full of peculiarities. There are the double consonants where you don’t expect them, as in the word “travelled.” There’s the spelling out of numbers, even the really long ones. And there are the words like “coöperate” and “reëlect,” which are written with two tiny dots over the second o and the second e.

5 Famous Cats in Literature

Cats make frequent literary appearances as fascinating, thought-provoking, and sometimes sneaky characters. From early nursery rhymes to contemporary tales, cats are omnipresent stars and sidekicks. To celebrate Adopt-a-Cat month in June, here are five famous cats that feature prominently in some much-loved books.

The Cat in the Hat

One of the best-known title characters in children’s literature, readers can easily identify the Cat in the Hat by his elongated body, striped hat, and red bow tie.

Which Grammar Rules Are Dying?

We all make mistakes. Sometimes, we even embrace them.

Such is the case with language. The words you’re reading right now are the product of centuries of slang, corruption, amalgamation, and lazy habits. The writers of today gently nudge future evolutions of English by choosing which mistakes will be acceptable tomorrow. (For instance, where you use verbs like “stung” and “stunk,” experts believe future writers may instead opt for “stinged” and “stinked.”)

Presume vs. Assume

• Presume is a verb that means to suppose, to take for granted, or to dare.
• Assume is a verb that means to suppose, to take for granted, to take upon, to don, or to undertake.
• In the shared meaning of “to suppose,” presume is usually used when you suppose based on probability, while assume is used when you suppose without any evidence.

What’s the difference between “assume” and “presume”?

Fascinating New Languages

Despite all our smarts and scientific advancements, there is still a lot we don’t know about the phenomenon of human language. We don’t know what the first human language sounded like. We don’t know exactly where, how, or when it came to be. We may never be able to find out—there’s an overwhelming lack of data to work with. What we can say, however, is that once we figured out how to create language, we went ahead and created a bunch of them.

Where Do Ninjas, Zombies, and Robots Come From?

English is a language made up almost entirely of other languages. Between the fifth and seventh centuries, tribes from lands that would become Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands showed up in Britain. The languages they spoke developed into Middle English, butted heads with Old Norman (pre-French), and, in Shakespeare’s time, got a dose of Latin and Ancient Greek. Along the way, individual words from a host of other languages were added to the mix.

5 Tips On How to Choose Your Blog Name

Guest post by Yohana Petrovic

So, you’ve decided to start your own blog! But before you can start writing and engaging with your readers, there is one hurdle that you have to jump: giving your blog a name. Choosing the best title for your blog is a very tricky thing.

Your blog’s name is its first claim to fame. As a starting blogger, your blog’s name is the make-or-break, the read or no-read, the click or no-click.

Here’s How to Get Started as a Freelance Writer

Sick of the 9-to-5 life? Yearning for work that’s creatively fulfilling? If you’re someone who loves to write, the idea of becoming a freelance writer has probably crossed your mind.

And if you’ve ever wondered how to turn that fantasy into a reality, this post is for you.

I’ve been a freelance writer since 2013, and over the years I’ve fielded many questions from folks interested in freelancing.

Monday Motivation Hack: Set an Intention

“Set your intention.”

How does that make you feel? Inspired? Or did the flash of a pseudo-spiritual yoga sesh make you cringe?

You will be happy to know that intention-setting isn’t just for yoga buffs and the meditative among you. Observationally, psychologists have found evidence of greater levels of achievement when daily intentions are set and revisited.

Likewise, it’s important to understand that intentions are different things for different people.

Canceled or Cancelled?

This word is a student’s best friend and a concert-goer’s most dreaded nightmare. Take these two signs:

Snow day: school canceled.

Drummer has food poisoning: performance cancelled.

So, which spelling is correct? The answer depends on where you call home.

Canceled or cancelled is the past tense of the verb to cancel. Both spellings are correct; Americans favor canceled (one L), while cancelled (two Ls) is preferred in British English and other dialects.

Do You Understand the True Bard or the False? Some Shakespeare Etymologies

Guest post by Annie Martirosyan

There are a number of words in Shakespeare’s plays and poems which are deceptive to modern ears. They may seem familiar words but, in fact, camouflage a quite different meaning lost to modern English. In Linguistics, these words are called False Friends. A False Friend is a word which has kept its form but has strayed from its original sense (or was a completely different word) so that the modern English word is false when compared to the original sense or word.

POLL: What is the “scariest” writing issue that you see in professional emails?

All of us know that business emails should be professional, meaning they should be free of basic spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors. Often, however, business emails are filled with errors. For better or worse, those errors make the writer seem not only unprofessional, but often also unqualified.

What do you think? 

Let us know and cast your vote!

Congradulations or Congratulations—Which Is Right?

• Congratulations is correct.
• Congradulations is a common misspelling.

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When something important and meaningful happens to someone, it’s nice to acknowledge it. But before we do, we need to double-check our spelling.

Congradulations vs. Congratulations—Which Is Correct?

There’s just one way to spell it, and that’s congratulations, with a T. This word came into English from Latin, where it was formed by combining the prefix com-, meaning “with,” to the root gratulari, meaning “give thanks” or “show joy.”

Do you proofread your emails?

What do you think about the state of writing in the workplace? Share your thoughts in our weekly poll!

Monday Motivation Hack: Treat Yourself

Mondays are hard.

But they don’t have to be.

In our Monday Motivation series, we’re set on helping you make the start of your week—and maybe the entire week—something you look forward to. This week we’re diving into something that might seem pretty obvious, but is often overlooked:

Give yourself something to look forward to, something that will make you feel successful.